Page 79 of Dance of Deception

I’m not where I’m supposed to be. The air is thick with unfamiliar scents. The bed beneath me is too soft and luxurious, the heavy silken sheets strange against my skin.

Panic claws at my throat. I twist, sitting up too fast, my limbs unresponsive, my vision tilting sideways.

Where thefuckam I?

Fear explodes through my veins, clamping down on me like claws digging into my skin. Then a soft voice cuts through the static exploding in my brain.

“Hey, hey—breathe, Lyra. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

My head whips to the sound, my pulse slowing when I register the familiar shape of Milena sitting beside me.

She’s perched on the edge of the bed, legs tucked underneath her, her expression calming and grounding as she smiles warmly at me.

“You’reokay,” she says reassuringly.

I don’t even realize I have the sheets in a death grip until Milena reaches forward and pries my fingers loose with gentle insistence.

I exhale shakily. “What…?” My voice comes out hoarse, thick with confusion.

Milena’s eyes soften. “You fainted at the club,” she murmurs, squeezing my hand briefly before pulling back.

Right. The club.

Instantly, my mind is flicking to the heat of Carmine’s body against mine. His voice in my ear. The suffocating, insistent press of the music, the couple in the corner…

It all comes back in a rush.

And then you fucking FAINTED in his lap.

I cringe.

Shoot me now.

At least Milena is here. That means I’m safe.

I let out a slow, relieved breath. “Where…?”

“The guest room at my place,” she smiles. “The girls are all here, too.” Her mouth twists. “We… We were worried about you.”

I force a weak smile to my lips. Then I try to shove the covers off me and get up, but my sluggish limbs betray me. The room tiltsnauseatingly, and I brace a hand against the mattress to keep from toppling over.

“Hey-hey, hang on,” Milena murmurs, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Take it easy.”

I barely hear her.

All I can hear is Carmine's voice, echoing in my head. All I can remember is the feel of his hands on me, pinning me possessively to his lap.

“Just relax,” Milena says quietly.

I breathe in deeply, willing my mind to slow down. But it doesn’t.

Carmine forced me to look.

Forced me to watch that couple at the club, tangled together in their pleasure. And that did something ugly to me that ripped the past right open.

I can’t face sex like that. Not after what I saw when I walked into that room, so many years ago.

I was fourteen when I found the basement beneath the basement. The secret place no one was supposed to find.

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